Combined amplitude-time and phase modulation

ABSTRACT

A method for multi-dimensional modulation of a network protocol including control data and payload data. The method includes encoding a first sine wave with the control data; encoding a second sine wave with the payload data; and summing the first and second sine waves to generate a compound sine wave. In some embodiments, the control data is header information for a first Ethernet packet and post-payload data for a second Ethernet packet; and the payload data is payload data for the second Ethernet packet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of non-provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 14/574,577, filed Dec. 18, 2014, which claimspriority to provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/924,304, filedJan. 7, 2014, (entitled “NuSine”), which applications are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to data transmission, and moreparticularly, to sine wave modulation techniques offering increased datatransmission rates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Transmission of digital data is typically accomplished from point topoint by modulating a sine wave utilized as a carrier wave throughmodification of one or more of the characteristic properties of the waveamplitude, frequency, and phase.

Amplitude modulation of sine waves has classically been implemented bydirectly varying the amplitude of the sine wave as a carrier wave inrelationship to the source to be transmitted. A typical signal sine waveis characterized by its amplitude, frequency, and phase. Sine waves areused to transmit data over a host of different media. For amplitudemodulated (AM) radio, the broadcasted carrier (sine) wave is modulatedwith voice and a simple AM receiver can separate the voice from thecarrier signal with a diode, amplify the voice and play it through aspeaker. AM radio suffers from signal noise byproducts that limit thesignal range, quality, and reliability. Typically, modulation or otherchanges to a pure sine wave will cause byproducts including harmonics,side band, reflections, and electromagnetic interference.

Direct modulation of sine waves as carrier waves produces significantnoise that is difficult to filter. Frequency modulation techniques havetypically been implemented by encoding information in a sine wave as acarrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave. Phasemodulation techniques have typically been implemented by encodinginformation on a sine wave as a carrier wave by variations in theinstantaneous phase of the carrier wave.

Hybrid modulations schemes have been developed and include QAM, SM, andSSB. These hybrid modulation schemes established improved datatransmission but still suffered from significant noise and othermodulation byproducts that reduce the actual transmission rates and useexcess spectrum resources.

Accordingly, improvements are sought in wave modulation encoding ofdata.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

While the way that the present invention addresses the disadvantages ofthe prior art will be discussed in greater detail below, in general, thepresent invention provides novel modulation techniques offeringsignificantly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (i.e., data-produced energyover the channel noise energy), reduced bandwidth requirements,increased noise immunity in recovering data at a given Bit Error Rate(BER), and improved dynamic control of the modulation process.

Phase/amplitude-time modulation offers significant increases in datatransmission rates compared to prior modulation methods/techniques. Thenew technique can be applied to any frequency and most existing wiredand wireless telecommunications infrastructure.

One aspect of the invention features, in some applications, a modulationmethod for combining amplitude-time and variable phase modulation of asine wave. The amplitude-time modulation avoids the majority of spuriousemissions exhibited by legacy modulation techniques through small phasevariation distortions of the sine wave amplitude. In someimplementations, the amplitude-time modulation is described as astep-porch distortion based on small per-bit modifications exhibited asstep- or porch-like phase changes to the sine wave during amplitude-timemodulation.

Legacy modulation schemes are typically limited to a small number ofbits of information per cycle due to noise and other modulationbyproducts. In contrast, amplitude-time modulation is capable of 1 to nbits per cycle, n being limited only by the communication hardwaredevice architecture, and peak and crossing phases. Each collection of nbits may comprise a bit set located at set phase angles of each wave.Additionally, more bits per cycle can be transmitted with the reducednoise signature of amplitude-time modulation. Typically a ‘zero’ valuebit is represented by no change in the sine wave value and a ‘one’ valuebit is represented by increasing or decreasing (slightly) the sine waveamplitude at a given position on the wave. Classical encoding techniquessuch as inverting alternate bits and adaptive altering may also beapplied to amplitude-time modulation.

Combinations of amplitude-time modulation with reduced noise canincrease the density of variable phase shifted signals and allow aplurality of sine wave carriers 1 to n to be placed at pre-determinedphase location periods along the sine wave. Placement can be at anylocation on the wave, where the value of n is depending, e.g., on devicehardware architecture, peak and crossing phases, and clock speed. Theaddition of variable phase modulation of sine waves can be implementedto increase data content within a transmission. Variable phasemodulation data can also facilitate additional data bits and/or controlbits to improve the amount and security of data transmitted within agiven bandwidth.

The amplitude-time modulated sine wave is combined with the 1 to ndegrees of variable phase modulation sine wave(s) to form a compoundsignal wave for communication purposes. The compound signal wave can beformatted, modulated, and transmitted over most any form ofcommunication system. The compound signal wave can then be demodulatedand deciphered as typical communications data. Any combination of wiredand wireless communications system may benefit from thePhase/amplitude-time modulation techniques.

Phase/Amplitude-time modulation can be employed with classicalelectronic hardware utilizing lists and look up tables, and with customdevices or software solutions in various applications.

Accordingly, the disclosed Phase/amplitude-time modulation techniquesoffer significantly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, reduced bandwidthrequirements, increased noise immunity, and improved control of themodulation process.

One embodiment provides a method for encoding digital data. The methodincludes generating an amplitude-time modulated sine wave. The methodincludes generating a phase-modulated sine wave. The method includessumming the amplitude-time modulated sine wave and the phase-modulatedsine wave to generate a compound sine wave. In some embodiments, thephase-modulated sine wave includes generating a phase-modulated carrierwave, and generating the compound sine wave includes generating atransmittable complex wave.

Another embodiment provides a system for encoding digital data. Thesystem includes an amplitude-time modulator for generating anamplitude-time modulated sine wave. The system includes a phasemodulator for generating a phase-modulated carrier wave. The systemincludes a summing module for summing the amplitude-time modulated sinewave with the phase-modulated sine wave to generate a compound sinewave.

Another embodiment provides a method for multi-dimensional modulation ofa network protocol including control data and payload data. The methodincludes encoding a first sine wave with the control data. The methodincludes encoding a second sine wave with the payload data. The methodincludes summing the first and second sine waves to generate a compoundsine wave. In some embodiments, encoding the first sine wave includesencoding the first sine wave with header information for a firstEthernet packet and post-payload data for a second Ethernet packet, andencoding the second sine wave includes encoding the second sine wavewith payload data for the second Ethernet packet. In some embodiments,encoding the first sine wave includes encoding an amplitude-timemodulated sine wave, and encoding the second sine wave includes encodinga phase-modulated sine wave.

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration ofthe detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a sine wave with digital information encoded throughamplitude-time modulation (ATM).

FIG. 2 illustrates positive cycle ATM encoding options.

FIG. 3 illustrates negative cycle ATM encoding options.

FIG. 4 illustrates an 8 bit per symbol ATM signal.

FIG. 5 illustrates the relationship between the ATM channel and phasemodulated channel signals.

FIG. 6 illustrates a combiner for combining ATM and phase modulationsignals.

FIG. 7 illustrates block diagram of a typical modulator circuit forgenerating a modulated sine wave carrier signal.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a typical frequency up converter forcommunicating a sine wave carrier signal.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a typical frequency down converter forcommunicating a sine wave carrier signal.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a typical modulator circuit, featuringindividually modulated sine wave carriers with outputs mixed together toform a compound signal wave.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a typical demodulator circuit forextracting encoded information from a modulated sine wave.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a typical demodulator circuit withn-multiple phase modulation streams.

FIG. 13 is a drawing of a typical classical transmit/receivecommunication system with amplitude-time encoding.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a typical interface circuit forimplementing a software configurable method for generating a compoundsignal wave.

FIG. 15 illustrates a prior art QAM 256 constellation.

FIG. 16 illustrates a prior art QAM 1024 constellation.

FIG. 17 illustrates an implementation of the phase channel to designatethe quadrant value and the amplitude-time channel to provide an 8 bitdata value for each quadrant.

FIG. 18 illustrates a combiner for combining ATM and a phase-modulatedcarrier wave.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an Ethernet packet.

FIG. 20 illustrates a combiner for combining control data and payloaddata into a multi-dimensional modulation.

FIG. 21 illustrates the multi-dimensional transmission of the Ethernetprotocol, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is of exemplary embodiments of the inventiononly, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, orconfiguration of the invention. Rather, the following description isintended to provide a convenient illustration for implementing variousembodiments of the invention. As will become apparent, various changesmay be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described inthese embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention asset forth herein. It should be appreciated that the description hereinmay be adapted to be employed with alternatively configured deviceshaving different components, modulation/demodulation mechanisms and thelike and still fall within the scope of the present invention. Thus, thedetailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustrationonly and not of limitation.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” isintended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of thephrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

It should also be noted that a plurality of hardware and software baseddevices, as well as a plurality of different structural components maybe used to implement the invention. In addition, it should be understoodthat embodiments of the invention may include hardware, software, andelectronic components or modules that, for purposes of discussion, maybe illustrated and described as if the majority of the components wereimplemented solely in hardware. However, one of ordinary skill in theart, and based on a reading of this detailed description, wouldrecognize that, in at least one embodiment, the electronic based aspectsof the invention may be implemented in software (that is, stored onnon-transitory computer-readable medium) executable by one or moreelectronic processors. Furthermore, and as described in subsequentparagraphs, the specific mechanical configurations illustrated in thedrawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention and thatother alternative mechanical configurations are possible. Also,“controllers” and “processing units” described in the specification caninclude processing components, such as one or more electronic processors(e.g., microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSP), fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGA), application specific integratedcircuits (ASIC), and the like), non-transitory computer-readable memorymodules, input/output interfaces, and various connections (e.g., asystem bus) connecting the components.

With reference to FIG. 1, a low-distortion, digitally synthesized sinewave is illustrated with data imposed or encoded on this sine wave usinga step function characterized by the presence or absence of data bits inthe data stream. The digital information can be encoded throughamplitude-time modulation displayed as step-porch type wave distortions.In various embodiments, this step function is referred to asAmplitude-Time Modulation (“ATM”) or the ATM Component. The step-porchdistortions encoding of information mitigates signal distortionscompared to legacy AM signals. Additional benefits of the reduceddistortions include larger word size (1 to n), more data per cycle, andefficient use of the available spectrum

A representative sine wave can be generated using a sine lookup table,imposed on a D to A converter.

The novel modulation techniques described herein are referred to asPhase/amplitude time modulation. Phase/amplitude-time modulation of sinewaves offers reduced noise and increased data densities. Accordingly,embodiments of the present invention may be used to efficiently encodedata for transmission over communications systems.

Phase/amplitude-time modulation further introduces a varying phase,quadrature signal (“Phase Component”) that allows data instantiated onthe signal to be programmable by the user. Phase/amplitude-timemodulation may thus be described in terms of the ATM Component and thePhase Component.

The primary data channel in Phase/amplitude-time modulation is the ATMmodulated sine wave or the ATM Component. In telecommunication, eachcycle is commonly referred to as a “Symbol.” While 16 bits per symboldata rates have been achieved on this channel using ATM, higher datarates are anticipated as the technology is further developed. Theorientation of the ATM modulation, or the way that the data bit isrepresented on the ATM sine wave, is fully programmable by the user.FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate options that can selectively represent either adata value of 1 or 0. Again, the number of bits per symbol, from 1 to n,is variable and selectable by the user, as is the location andorientation of the data.

At a receiver, raw bits of an n-bit word can then be separated from thesine wave, with peaks and valleys representing 0 and 1 data bitscontrolled by preamble or control word instructions. In addition to theorientation and the number of bits per symbol (i.e., cycle), thelocation of the bit on the cycle, i.e., the angle on the wave where thebit resides, is also programmable. This raw data can be normalized,conditioned, and stored as appropriate.

With reference to FIG. 4, the ATM bit orientation may be selected torepresent the value to be encoded. An associated receiver may beinformed of this configuration to properly determine the intended value.Finally, the duration of the ATM modulation at each location is alsoprogrammable. Note that the bit duration may not overlap the start ofthe subsequent bit.

Turning now to description of the Phase Component ofPhase/amplitude-time modulation, unlike the ATM channel/component (i.e.,the ATM channel) that contains actual data values, thePhase/amplitude-time Phase channel/component (i.e., the phase channel)is a “representation” of either a data value or a control message. Thischannel in the Phase/amplitude-time modulation scheme is created by theintroduction of a phase shift to the ATM channel by summing the twowaves. This additional channel allows the value of the phase shift to beused as a way of either adding additional data bits to the symbol orsending control signals between the transmitter and the receiverregarding the format of the ATM channel data. For example, anintroduction of a specific phase shift could indicate to the receiverthat subsequent ATM channel modulation will indicate that: theorientation of the modulation will be inverted until further notice; theposition of the Most Significant Bit (MSB) will be opposite of thecurrent configuration until further notice; the data bit locations willchange to a predefined format until further notice; a customconfiguration created by the user will be in effect until furthernotice; or future phase information will represent additional data bitsfor the symbol until further notice.

The number of data bits represented by the phase channel isconfiguration dependent, e.g., depending on division of the phasechannel into four possible values, 45, 90, 135 and 180 degrees of shift.In this use case, the user can add two additional data bits per symbol,45°=00, 90°=01, 135°=10, and 180°=11. The additional bits are detectedand added to the data transmitted on the ATM modulation channel duringthe same symbol. More possible phase values allow for more data bits.

The phase channel may also be used as a means of syncing the data beingtransmitted with a specific shift representing the beginning or end of adata byte, word, or even packet. This allows for more actual datapayload efficiency by not requiring the extensive preamble control bitsto be sent to coordinate the transmission as in other modulationtechniques. Implementation of these various features can createcustomized proprietary protocols or to satisfy unique applicationrequirements. This capability creates additional benefits in theeffective data rate of the system utilizing this technique.

With reference to FIG. 5, a relationship of the phase channel to the ATMchannel is illustrated in which the phase channel is in quadrature(i.e., 90 degrees out of phase) with the ATM channel. The values of thetwo waves are independently encoded. The combination of phase andamplitude characteristics of the phase channel reflects the data/controlinformation for the given symbol.

With reference to FIG. 6, the combined data value of the symbol encodingis referred to as the Complex Modulated Signal. FIG. 5 represents thetwo channels being created by the technology. The top channel is the ATM(Amplitude Time Modulation) channel, which is used as the primary datachannel. The presence or absence of the modulation described in FIGS. 1,2 and 3 to encode one to n data bits per symbol on the data channel(i.e., the ATM channel).

The bottom channel is the phase channel, which is used to add eitheradditional bits and/or control bits to the technology. The phase and/oramplitude of the phase channel are modulated to represent the desiredinformation, or data bits, to be encoded on the signal. This combinationof phase and amplitude modulation is used to represent n number ofvalues on the phase channel. The number of bits per symbol on thischannel is limited only by the transmitting and receiving circuitry'sability to respond rapidly enough to create and recognize the datavalues being encoded/decoded.

The two channels are in quadrature with each other (i.e., 90 degrees outof phase with each other). The combining (i.e., summing) of these twosignals creates a complex modulation signal (i.e., aPhase/Amplitude-Time Modulated Signal) that contains the transmitteddata, the control information, or both, which signal can be transmittedfrom a transmitting device to a receiving device.

In some embodiments, data may be encoded solely in the ATM channel,i.e., with a 00 phase shift or 0 bits of data on the Phase Channel.

Turning now to descriptions of implementations of transmission of thePhase/Amplitude-Time Modulated Signal, the modulated sine wave is sentto a gain block (not shown) to produce a harmonic component, e.g., atthe 3 dB compression point. The block acts as a soft mixer, mixing thedata rate and the sine wave carrier rate to produce energy at the 3rd,5th, and 7th harmonics of the carrier.

A phase/amplitude-time modulated signal may be transmitted usingprimarily the harmonic and its AM and PM components. The generatedsignal energy is put through a band pass filter centered at the harmoniccomponent frequency. All but the harmonic is filtered out, as this isthe spectrum having the AM and PM saw tooth energy components necessaryto recover the transmitted information. These components arecomplementary to each other and symmetrically opposite to each other inthe same time slot.

Conventional forms of modulation in use today are typically in-band orsideband energy producing, i.e., the energy produced is in the channelalong with the noise and other byproducts produced. This typicallycauses a reduction in the SNR or Eb/No.

In contrast, Phase/amplitude-time modulation produces little to noin-band noise products since it uses primarily the energy in theharmonic portion of the spectrum. All the sideband and carrier energy isremoved with the band pass filter centered at the harmonic frequency.For example, if the carrier frequency is 100 kHz and has 9 bits (orsteps) per vertical slope, the data rate will be 18 times the carrierrate or 1.8 Mb/s. A Gaussian distributed concentration of energy isproduced at the harmonic frequency and has a unit value amplitude andphase, crossing at the bit rate. This energy is then demodulated with aDSP (Digital Signal Processing) engine or an equivalent circuitimplementation that is configured to act as a phase and amplitudedetector for both the ATM and Phase channels.

The theoretical noise floor limit, known as kTB, for 100 kHz is −124 dBmat room temperature, but the peak power of the data is practically −70dBm. This produces SNR of greater than 50 dB RMS.

It should be noted that this data rate would normally require an Eb/Noof near 100 dB for a BER of 10e-8. However, since Phase/amplitude-timeproduces no in-channel noise or artifacts and sends only the differencedata bits, it takes less than 70 dB Eb/No.

Turning to description of reception of Phase/amplitude-time modulatedsignals, the harmonic carrier, i.e., the harmonic itself, plus theenergy associated around the carrier, is input into a quadraturedetector. This can be done using a pair of double balanced mixers with a90-degree phase shift in the local oscillator, creating an IQdemodulator. Locking the local oscillator on the harmonic divided byvalue of the harmonic, we now have time-slot data information coming outof the quadrature and incident ports of the double balanced mixers, orIQ demodulator. When the phase and amplitude components cross each othera “1” or “0” is output depending on whether the data has been inverted.

Another way to configure a detector is to take the original frequency ofthe carrier wave, input it into a double balanced mixer, and inputanother sine wave without data in the local oscillator port at the samefrequency. This configuration serves as a differential detector sincethe data output of the double balanced mixer is the difference betweenthose two carriers. Thus any phase shift or amplitude shift in eitherone of those carriers can be used to produce a data stream. The carriersand sideband components can be discarded, reducing noise and spectrumrequirements. In this implementation, only the harmonic distortioncomponent for the first group of carriers is used. If more than one sinewave is passed down stream, only one is used as the clock, e.g., usuallythe top or bottom sine wave.

In a multi-channel environment, only one of the harmonics is sent. Aslong as the signals all begin at the same phase, one signal can be usedfor a frame clock for all channels as in ATM modes when the signals areagain phase coherent. Phase/amplitude-time thus is more efficient movingfrom single channel to multi-channel use.

One of the primary advantages of Phase/amplitude-time technology is thecapacity to communicate more information than current technologies in agiven bandwidth. Currently, commercially available forms of modulationcan achieve around 10 bits per Hertz over existing, industry-standardinfrastructure. Legacy modulation technologies often sacrifice bit errorrate to increase information rate per Hertz, with industry standardsrequiring about 10 to the minus 8, bit error rate (BER 10e-8).

FIG. 7 is block diagram of a typical modulator circuit for generating amodulated sine wave carrier signal. The displayed block diagram is thefunctional basis for implementing amplitude-time modulation. Whileclassical block functions are shown, other signal processing techniquessuch as programmed micros, digital signal processors, and state machinesare also appropriate to this task. The sine wave look up table (LUT)drives a D/A converter. The phase angles 0 to 360 degrees are quantizedto n number of discrete values. A multi-bit counter continuously countsthrough these discrete values at a clock rate. The output of themulti-bit counter addresses the sine-function lookup table that providesthe digital encoded sine-function value for each quantized phase angle.The D/A converter outputs a voltage proportional to the sine of thediscrete phase angle at the input of the lookup table. The clockgenerator is shown driving the multi-bit counter with a delay elementand latch the value when high being transparent when the value is low.The output drives the lookup table. The lookup table drives the D/Aconverter. Modulation implementing the step-porch amplitude-timemodulation techniques by holding input to the lookup table for thedesired number of clock pulses equal to time interval implementing thephase period desired.

Information to be encoded is introduced to a data input register. Datainput size is n depending on device hardware and clock speeds. The datainput register is clocked by the memory. The data are preloaded andinitial data bits appear on the output (serial) of the data inputregister. If the counter and data input register as they appear at theAnd function both contain a value of 1 the output of the D/A converterwill remain constant. During operation the counter continues and theoutput sequentially addresses the contents of the memory. D/A outputwill only change when a difference in value between counter and registerare detected. Many variations can be employed to implement the encodingof digital information that minimizes signal distortions whilemaximizing data throughput. The bit rate controller can be adaptivelyconfigured to alter the bit rate or phase intervals to adapt to thecommunication channel conditions. Additionally, the bit rate controllercan be adapted to implement security and control functions for the datatransmission.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a typical frequency up converter forcommunicating a sine wave carrier signal. A local oscillator drives oneinput of a balanced mixer. A modulated sine wave carrier set is mixedfrom the other input of the balanced mixer. The output of the balancedmixer is connected to a band pass filter. The output of the band passfilter is ready to be transmitted through the appropriate drivercircuitry.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a typical frequency down converter forcommunicating a sine wave carrier signal. A local oscillator drives oneinput of a balanced mixer. Received RF input is mixed into the otherinput of the balanced mixer. The output of the balanced mixer is passedto a detector for deciphering and conditioning.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a typical modulator circuits, featuringindividually modulated sine wave carriers with outputs mixed together toform a compound signal wave. As shown a modular circuit(s) (MOD.1,MOD.2, MOD.3, and MOD.4) represent amplitude-time modulated sine wavecarriers. These modular circuit(s) are fed into a summer/combiner formixing into a composite waveform for conditioning, transmission andreceiving/deciphering. The summer/combiner outputs are connected inserial or parallel to a data convoluter for transmission. Thepositioning of variable sine wave carriers can be varied by lists, lookup tables, or software control as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 11. While 4modular circuits are shown up to n circuits may be employed limited onlyby hardware device architecture, and clock speed.

The FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a typical demodulator circuit forextracting encoded information from a modulated sine wave. Initially,incoming modulated sine wave carrier is input to the input signalconditioning block. Various signal conditioning functions will beutilized within the signal conditioning block as appropriate to the typeof transmission. Types of transmission include but are not limited totwisted pair, wireless, microwave, or differential lines. The output ofthe signal conditioning block is connected to a bandpass filter. Thebandpass filter is typically centered on the carrier frequency with aQ>100. The signal from the bandpass filter is amplified by the Amp blockand inserted into the balanced mixer block. The mixer block mixes theamplified signal with a numerically controlled oscillator, NCO block.The numerically controlled oscillator frequency and phase are set to thefrequency and phase of one of the amplitude-time modulated sine waveswithin the passband of the bandpass filter.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a typical demodulator circuit withn-multiple phase modulation streams. Shown is a plurality of modulatedcarriers within a communications channel with separate demodulation ofeach carrier to decipher the encoded data. A collection of six balancedmixers are shown but n mixers can be implemented with the limitation ofhardware device architecture, and clock speed. The input line(s) feedall balanced mixers. Each balanced mixer has a unique connection to anumerically controlled oscillator multi-frequency sine wave generator.The generator's output lines transmit at the specific frequency of thecarrier wave data are to be extracted from. The mixer(s) output is theinformation from the carrier wave and is also connected to a dataconvoluter. The data convoluter reassembles the digital data from theindividual amplitude-time modulated sine wave signal(s). The incomingcarrier waves can be of different frequencies and data rates byutilizing adaptable control information.

FIG. 13 is a drawing of a typical transmit/receive communication systemwith amplitude-time encoding. As an example a RF wireless communicationsend to end block diagram is shown. Each station has a user interface forcontrolling communications functions. Additionally, each has amodulator/demodulator function for encoding/decoding of signals. Also,each has a transceiver to modulate/demodulate the carrier signals to betransmitted/received. Any final stage conditioning and transceiverfunction is appropriate to the modulation communications techniques.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example of an interface circuit forimplementing a software configurable method for generating a compoundsignal wave. The present block diagram is a hardware function that canbe software configured to adapt to most any communications system. Theinterface circuit is implemented with a control plane that is acollection of CPUs (number n) interfacing with the I/F signal controlledby a GPU. The GPU represents the data plane and operates the transformreceive and transmit functions. The control plane and data planeinterface to a FPGA that contains custom I/O logic and buffers. The FPGAalso facilitates a system interface. The FPGA also interfaces to themodulator/demodulator for signal transmission preparation. Themodulator/demodulator also interfaces to an RF interface for signaltransmit and receive functions. The illustrated CPU/GPU implementationmay be replaced with a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) that is programmedto perform the same functions.

An important specification in any modulation technology is theSignal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). This is the required signal strength,measured in decibels (DBs), above the ambient noise and often stated inrelationship with the BER realized at that level. In other words, with agiven signal strength above the noise, the modulation technology canreliably produce a specific BER.

Symbol Error Rate (SER) takes into consideration the number of bits persymbol. A stronger signal may be required to produce a lower BER. In thecase of 256 QAM, this would be 8 Bits per symbol, so the SER iscalculated by dividing the BER by the 8 bits per symbol. The morecomplex modulation schemes are typically more susceptible to noise.Thus, the signal must be increasingly higher than the noise in order tobe reliably detected and correctly interpreted. When the receiverincorrectly interprets the transmitted signal, it can implement aforward error-correcting algorithm in software based on the errordetection and correction scheme being used or it can request that thetransmitter resend the data. Both of these options can negatively affectthe performance of the network that is relying on the technology. Thus,it is advantageous to produce the lowest BER at the smallest possibleSNR.

While QAM (QAM16, QAM64 up to QAM1024) is currently considered the bestconventional modulation, its inherent limitation is that QAM generatesartifacts and noise in the channels. With QAM, any attempt to increasethe signal to noise ratio by amplifying the signal, amplifies the noiseby the same factor. Therefore, Shannon's Limit is always reached. Insummary, the smallest QAM step generally has to be greater than 6 dBabove the noise in the channel. If there is noise in the channel, it isnecessary to amplify the signal before encountering the noise. In fact,QAM's limitations also apply to other existing forms of modulation, asthey also use in-band, sideband, or related-component types ofmodulation.

Amplitude Modulation (AM) is in-band and has two side bands, althoughthe carrier is not needed, so the carrier and one of the side bands arefiltered out in the receiver, leaving only a single sideband to providetransmitted information. While Frequency Modulation (FM) has someadvantages in terms of immunity to noise, it does not conserve spectrum.

QAM is generally considered superior to PCM, BPSK, AFSK and other formsof modulation. QAM employs quadrature movement of the sine wave and anamplitude step of each sine wave. Depending on the rate of the sinewave, there is an AM component shifted forward or backward in phase withan in-band noise generating effect. Besides the movement of the sinewave, which generates FM or PM, QAM employs an amplitude step with itsown artifacts. These two elements combined generate random noise insidethe channel. Thus, conventional modulation schemes employ sidebands orother artifact-generating data transport methods.

For example, an AM radio frequency of 1 MHz transmitting music, it ispossible to use up to half of the 1 MHz, or 500 KHz, without breakingNyquist limits. If we exceed that, there would be no spectral differencebetween the information we are sending and the carrier we are sending iton. If that limit is exceeded, sideband products are generated.

In contrast, Phase/amplitude-time modulation discards or filters out thecarrier, sidebands, and in-channel extraneous elements prior totransmission. Thus, Phase/amplitude-time modulation can break theNyquist limit when more than 16 steps are modulated onto the sine wave.With Phase/amplitude-time, using the same 1 MHz carrier, it is feasibleto support a 16 Megabit per second data rate, surpassing the Nyquistlimit (e.g., modulating a 16 MHz carrier within 1 MHz). However, this isnot a carrier at 16 MHz but a data stream. The data stream can be one ofseveral types of frequencies, e.g., 101, 001, and 010, with additionalcombinations up to the channel width limit.

In a particular embodiment, a Phase/amplitude-time sine wave issynthesized using a 100 KHz carrier and a numerically controlledoscillator (NCO). A D to A converter is used to set the bit step-size,e.g., to the least significant bit or the next to least significant bit.Selective toggling of “ones” “zeros” generates steps or porches in thesine wave, referred to as ATM. Thus, the steps or porches representeither “ones” or “zeros” generated in every other bit location, andevery other timeslot location, so each timeslot is different. Thesesteps and porches are typically only generated on the more verticalparts of the sine wave. For example, in the case of a 1 MHz sine wavethere can be 16 steps, 8 bits on each of the more linear portions of thevertical slopes.

The Phase/amplitude-time ATM Channel, with only 8 bits per symbol, isequivalent in data throughput to QAM256. Again, the data transmittedusing the ATM Channel is the actual value of the data, requiring onlyone modulated wave, and not a representation of the data as in QAM256,which requires two modulated waves to convey the same data value. FIG.15 illustrates a QAM256 “constellation” in which each point in theconstellation represents an eight bit binary value between 0 and 255.

With reference to FIG. 16, each quadrant of a QAM 1024 constellation mapcontains 256 points. The challenges that exist with QAM 256 become evenmore pronounced with QAM 1024. For example, accurately identifying anintended point on the constellation and determining its exact data valuerequires that two waves be accurately measured and interpreted at thesymbol frequency. Accuracy is critical to maintain the BER or SER of thesystem, to reduce receiver processing, or worse and avoid the need fordata retransmission.

In a particular Phase/amplitude-time use case, the Phase Channel is usedto designate one of four values, provide increased data throughput. Thisuse case leveraged the reliable data transmission characteristics of theATM Channel and implements Phase Channel data to quadruple (4×) theeffective data throughput. Analogous to QAM 1024, the value on the PhaseChannel is associated with a quadrant, except that the actual data valueis encoded on the ATM Channel wave, while the Phase Channel designatesthe “quadrant” location on the “constellation.”

With reference to FIG. 17, a QAM 1024 equivalent throughputimplementation of Phase/amplitude-time could be envisioned as a superiorsolution. This is similar to QAM 1024 but with the benefits of thePhase/amplitude-time modulation. This use case underscores the powerthat the Phase Channel brings to the ATM Channel by encoding just twobits of data on the Phase Channel and only 8 bits per symbol on the ATMChannel; a QAM 1024 equivalent data rate can be realized withPhase/amplitude-time modulation. In addition, the improved SNR andspectral utilization of the Phase/amplitude-time modulation ismaintained. Phase/amplitude-time throughput can be proportionallyincreased by adding additional bits to the Phase Channel.

These Phase Channel values can also be looked at as “channels” for theATM data. In other words, three bits of Phase Channel data results ineight unique “channels” for the ATM data.

The ATM Channel signal is sent into a gain block and the input to thegain block is adjusted to achieve the compression point of thepeak-to-peak value of the sine wave. The compression point is thenon-linear portion of an amplifier where, as the input signal isincreased, the output does not follow the input level. WhilePhase/amplitude-time technology is currently capable of using any one ofthe 32 harmonics, it is described herein with a focus on the thirdharmonic. The compression point of interest is the point where theentire third harmonic carrier and component information is located.Therefore, if the number of steps has distorted the sine wave by 30-40dB, a third harmonic carrier 30 dB down from the fundamental frequencycarrier amplitude will result. The input to the gain block is furtheradjusted so that the associated step components are equal to the sinewave at 3 times the carrier rate.

Adjusting the compression point described above within the amplifier(e.g., to about 2 or 3 dB of linear compression), the third harmonic canbe used as a clock. The components around the third harmonic are theresulting data symbols. The Gaussian distributed concentration of energy(or data in this case) is equal in amplitude which can be advantageouslyused to optimize the Eb/No ratio, i.e., the signal energy in the bitsover the noise floor. The steps of the Phase/amplitude-time sine waverepresent two components: amplitude and phase. When those two componentscross they appear as Fourier components around the third harmonic with aGaussian distribution.

In conventional modulation, like FM transmission, the modulation rate ofthe signal is the frequency offset of the carrier being sent. The amountof deviation in frequency is the volume of the modulating signal. Inphase modulation a carrier deviates in phase based on the modulatingsignal. With Phase/amplitude-time, using the harmonic, there is not avolume component, only the rate that is no longer in the channelspectrum, which results in a channel clear of modulation-produced noise.

The phase component, which is part of the energy of the Fouriercomponent, is not being sent, and therefore, does not require spectrum.In the Phase/amplitude-time modulation scheme, only the amplitude steprequires spectrum around the harmonic. Phase can be recovered in twoways. The first method is by quadrature detection of the amplitudecomponent. Locking onto the harmonic, the correction for the lock alsoproduces the phase component. When the amplitude and the phase cross adata bit is output in the detector.

With Phase/amplitude-time, there is only one amplitude step withoutfractional components that produce energy down to the noise floor. Forexample, a 100 KHz signal with 16 steps per sine wave would result in1.6 Mb/s of data running through an 85 KHz channel (KTB for 85 KHz isnegative 125 dBm). Therefore, transmitting that signal at “0” dBm, asignal-to-noise ratio of 125 dB is obtained.

Comparing Phase/amplitude-time to other modulation schemes, usingShannon's limit, Phase/amplitude-time produces a channel clear ofin-band artifacts, having a data capability considerably more than wouldnormally be sent, such as our 1.6 Mb in an 85 KHz channel. As a result,Phase/amplitude-time has a much greater signal-to-noise ratio than anyother form of modulation.

Phase/amplitude-time modulation offers a level of immunity to noisebecause the amplitude and phase components are being sent in quadratureto each other. It is the crossover point of those two components thatare detected for data in the ATM Channel. Since noise does not shift inphase, typically the noise threshold itself can be approached, withapproximately a 2 dB signal-to-noise ratio, and still detect the data.Other conventional forms of modulation may require more than a 12 dBSINAD or 6 dB signal-to-noise for equal bit error rates (BER).Significant data corruption requires resending data multiple times toachieve a usable BER such as 10e-8. Noise in the channel typicallyreduces the signal-to-noise ratio, including the factors of noise floorkTB, insertion loss, amplifier noise, and the various artifactsproduced. Thus, the usable signal power cannot be raised without alsoraising the noise in the channel.

However, since Phase/amplitude-time sends only the transient components,they can be sent at a very high level, resulting in a large Eb/No ratio,e.g., data can easily be detected even when the SNR is only 2 dB Eb/No.

The third harmonic can carry three times the phase data, generating as adigitally synthesized oscillator at the fundamental. The oscillator willgenerate distortion while generating the sine wave, depending, e.g., onthe frequency of the clock, step size, and how monotonic the D to Aconverter is (whether it is an R2R ladder or other type). With an 8-bitR2R ladder or D to A converter, 160 dB per Hertz from the oscillator canbe achieved at 10 kHz from the third harmonic carrier frequency.

In the typical case, the third harmonic has some random sideband andnumerical noise, but it is 160 dB down at 10 KHz from the third harmoniccarrier frequency. This is below the threshold of the amplitude of theFourier components at the third order intercept point (IP3). As aresult, the third harmonic noise is not a factor.

Turning now to description of multi-carrier effects, most advancedmodulation schemes are used in multi-carrier environments, where noiseis generated from many sources. Nevertheless, Phase/amplitude-timesubstantially maintains noise immunity whether from transmitting its owndata or from crossover noise generated by other carriers. However, someforms of modulation like Pulse Code Modulation (PCM), PSK31, AFSK, andvarious others have non-return-to-zero components that can occasionallyinterfere with the time slot Phase/amplitude-time is trying to receive.For example, in the case of television frequencies with many headroomcomponents and other artifacts in the channel, there may be interferenceencountered at the rate of Phase/amplitude-time's phase, causing the biterror rate to degrade. However, it is estimated that the maximumincidence of these events is about 16%, because Phase/amplitude-time'sGaussian concentration of energy is 68% of the total energy. Theremaining 16% is outside the complementary area of that part of theGaussian concentration of energy. Statistically, the most interferencePhase/amplitude-time could encounter would be 16% of the total time.Therefore, Phase/amplitude-time's noise immunity is extremely good.

The component energy being used is not generating additional noise inthat portion of the spectrum around the given harmonic. There are alsointer-modulation distortion components and other sideband-producingnoise elements that are eliminated with a channel band-pass filter.

In a particular example, if a band-pass filter has a 100 KHz pass bandfor transmission at 1.6 Megabits in a 100 KHz channel, a Signal-to-Noise(SN) ratio of approximately 80 dB is required based on Shannon's limit.With a theoretical noise floor of −124 dBm, the minimum signal powerwould be only −44 dBm with Phase/amplitude-time. If necessary, the 100KHz channel bandwidth can be reduced and increasing the signal to noiseratio from 10 dB to 20 dB results in double the data rate usable in thechannel.

Again, when using the third harmonic, Phase/amplitude-time essentiallydiscards the fifth and seventh harmonic data and the two sidebandsgenerated at one of the three frequencies where the data may exist, plusor minus the carrier frequency used. Although two concentrations ofenergy exist, they are not transmitted because they are filtered in thetransmitter. These would simply add unnecessary energy to the channeland are not needed

The Phase/amplitude-time signal is a single amplitude that can betransmitted at any desired power level. This is the energy associatedwith the harmonic. If random data is transmitted, it is a Gaussianconcentration of energy (sine x/x), which can be placed on eithersideband, or in the center of the third harmonic. This is accomplishedby the symmetry of either the porches or steps during generation of thesine wave. Preferably, the energy concentration is placed on thehigh-frequency side of the harmonic carrier, with time coherence betweenthe energy, amplitude, and carrier being sent. The amplitude of theharmonic carrier is a function of the total distortion of the sine waveitself, so it is not necessary to transmit that either for detection inthe receiver.

Phase/amplitude-time modulation provides the flexibility of using theleast significant bit, the next to least, or other combination, togenerate the step size on the sine wave. The wave can be paused, and thechosen bit toggled as necessary. In addition, a bit from a previouslocation can be toggled in the lookup table, in advance of the currentlocation, so a step or a porch is created. This accommodates manypossible combinations.

Thus, not only can the associated concentration of energy be maximizedaround the harmonic, it is also possible to alternate between datacombinations and create two additional concentrations of energy.Multiple channel combinations of bits can be transmitted. Trinary, dualbinary, and many other combinations are also possible. As an addedsecurity benefit, these combinations can be made very complex so theycannot be decoded without the proper key sequence.

A significant aspect of Phase/amplitude-time modulation is theconservation of spectrum. Phase/amplitude-time uses spectrum whensending a change in data value, which shows up in the harmonic asintermodulation distortion products. These are Fourier components thatresult in transmitted energy. Since only data changes are being sent,and typical data is random, only 50% of the normally required energy isnecessary to transmit. Therefore, the total power spectral densityrequired is half. If it is desirable to send every bit, every other bitmay be inverted. As a result, nearly all of this data is symmetrical andit becomes a classic Gaussian distribution of energy around theharmonic. However, it comprises only one half of the bandwidth energynormally required.

As a test example, a 100 KHz sine wave, with a 300 KHz data thirdharmonic, was used to send 1.6 Mb of data in 85 KHz. Shannon's Limit canbe estimated by: the log base2 of SNR is 0.332 times the SNR valueexpressed in dB. Assuming the SNR is 120 dB and ignoring the plus 1 andthe numeric value, this value could be considered if the power level ofthe carrier were +30 dBm or one watt, as the resulting third harmoniccarrier would be at approximately 0 dBm, and the theoretical noise floorwould be −125 dBm. Converting the power ratio in dB to the numeric valueand adding the plus 1, the result is SNR in dB times 0.332 times 85 KHz,which represents the total Shannon's limit given those parameters in Mbper second. In this case, it would result in 3.0101 Mbps. Dividing by 85KHz, according to Shannon, the highest theoretical throughput possiblewould appear to be 35.41 bits per Hertz.

With a 30 dB amplifier, the channel has 120 dB of free dynamic rangeabove the noise floor, and the noise in the channel is amplified by 30dB. Subtracting 30 dB from 120 dB, the total SNR is reduced to 90 dB.Such factors compound and degrade the 39.84 bits per HZ to about 30 bitsper Hz, e.g., the practical limit. While standard forms of modulationare severely affected by these factors, Phase/amplitude-time allows datatransport without some of these limiting factors having a significanteffect.

Phase/Amplitude-Time Receiver Implementations

One simple receiver structure is a direct conversion or zero if thereceiver filtered to receive only the harmonic and its components. Inthe 300 KHz example, such a receiver would look for the real andquadrature imagined components of the phase. The receiver would lock onthe third harmonic, divide by three, take the 2 outputs, and check themfor phase and amplitude where they cross. Since there is only oneamplitude step size, the amplitude is a function of the power in thetotal energy concentration. If it is zero dBm, we would be detecting 200millivolts. Noise would have to increase to 190 millivolts before itwould interfere with data detection. The result is extraordinary noiseimmunity! The fact that the noise is not coherent with the data is alsounique to Phase/amplitude-time.

Although not required, a cost-effective method of detection is a DigitalSignal Processing (DSP) engine, which can provide more complex featureswith Phase/amplitude-time modulation/demodulation. A universal DSPengine for Phase/amplitude-time has been demonstrated for a range ofapplications.

IQ Demodulator Implementation

In some implementations, the receiver includes an IQ demodulator similarto those used in cell phones. The IQ demodulator can be used to set theclock divider by three and decipher time slots to determine when to lookfor data and when not to look for data. The DSP requires a math model toefficiently decipher data without wasting clock cycles. The IQdemodulator is an incident and quadrature detector that has aninety-degree phase shift between two double-balanced mixers. The inputsignal drives the R ports of the double balanced mixers. The localoscillator is generated at the carrier rate of the third harmonic. Theports are in quadrature to each other.

As a result, when an output appears at one port, the quadrature imageappears at the other port. One output represents phase and the otherrepresents amplitude. Since they appear as opposite saw tooth waves,where they cross each other, complementary values result in a one thattakes the form of a clearly defined amplitude or energy pulse. It iseasily detectable, even when combined with impairments such as noise,aliasing, or other artifacts normally in the channel.

Receiver Band Pass Filter Requirements

In one implementation, the ATM Channel of the Phase/amplitude-timemodulation technique utilizes an elliptical filter. Elliptical filtersoffer sharp, frequency cut-off; however, they are also characterized bygroup delay. This means not all frequencies pass through the filter withthe same time delay. This group delay is a change in phase, depending onfrequency, which is linear (logarithmically linear) with the frequency.Therefore, the filter is configured to minimize group delay to avoidupsetting the phase component that Phase/amplitude-time is trying todetect. As the number of bits received increases, group delay becomesincreasingly important at the upper corner frequency of the filter.

At the upper corner frequency, the filter rejects frequencies above thecut-off frequency and accepts those frequencies below the cut-offfrequency. This creates an impedance discontinuity that causesreflections measured as return loss. Return loss is the voltage ratio ofthe power being reflected and the power being accepted, such that thecorner frequency wrinkles the phase component of whatever the transferslope is. This condition creates distortion in the areaPhase/amplitude-time in which is trying to detect the data components.So, both group delay and phase compensation of the group delay areimportant considerations. A well-constructed elliptical filter caneffectively deal with the problems outlined above forPhase/amplitude-time applications.

Carrier Wave Phase Modulation

As set forth in detail herein, embodiments of the present invention mixan ATM channel and a Phase channel, prior to the introduction of acarrier wave frequency, to produce a complex modulation signal (e.g., asshown in FIG. 6). As illustrated in FIG. 18, in some embodiments, thecarrier wave itself may be phase modulated and mixed with the ATMmodulation channel to generate a transmittable complex wave. In suchembodiments, a receiver performs data detection at the carrier wave, andextracts the ATM channel from the transmitted complex wave forprocessing as described herein. For example, a receiver's circuitrydetects the carrier phase modulation to capture the Phase channel data,and recovers the ATM channel modulation to interpret the ATM channeldata.

Multi-Dimensional Modulation

Today's signal modulation technology entirely supports a sequentialapproach to the transferring of digital data from transmitter toreceiver. The modulation of this data upon the transmitted signal is thesame for all data sent regardless of utilization of the data by thereceiver. For example, whether the data is a synchronizing value, adestination or an origination address, or the actual data beingtransmitted, the modulation and medium used is exactly the same. It isup to the receiver to determine the function of the data related to theposition of the data value in the communication sequence.

At the modulation level, each symbol contains a fixed number of bits(e.g., from 1 to 8 bits of data depending on the modulation). The numberof bits per symbol does not vary from transmission to transmission.Symbols are serially transmitted, received and demodulated. In someapplications (e.g., TCP/IP) the symbols are grouped into packets ofvarying size from 64 bytes and larger. Each packet may contain acombination of information about the data being sent (e.g., controldata) and the data itself. The packets are serially transmitted.

The data, after demodulation, is interpreted according to the protocolbeing used by the system sending and receiving the modulated data. Inone example, the Ethernet protocol is used. The Ethernet protocolorganizes bytes into frames that are further organized into packets.

As illustrated in FIG. 19, data transmitted via Ethernet is formattedwith a preamble, a repeated pattern of 56 “1s” and “0s” to let thereceiver know that a message is coming; followed by the Start FrameDelineator (SFD), which is a single fixed value byte. This is followedby a header, which indicates the message originator and the destinationaddress. The transmitter uses the header to inform the receiver that themessage is for the receiver, and what to expect in the upcomingtransmission. The header is followed by the payload (i.e., the actualdata being transmitted), and a frame check sequence (FCS), used forerror detection. Finally, an end of frame message is transmitted, whichis followed by an interpacket gap. The process repeats for the nextmessage.

Ethernet serially transmits both control information and the datapayload itself, regardless of the size of the data payload. Because thesame amount of control data (i.e., the preamble, SFD, header, FCS, endof frame, and interpacket gap) is transmitted regardless of the payloadsize, Ethernet suffers from protocol overhead. The smaller the datapayloads is, the less efficient the utilization of the network is.Efficiency for an Ethernet network can be as low as 30% for today'sEthernet networks regardless of the transfer speeds achieved.

In one view, a network protocol (e.g., Ethernet) is actually a byproductof the modulation used to convey the information. Because the modulationis single dimensional, the receiver must not only interpret the valuesof the data transmitted, but maintain the protocol or format in whichthe information is being conveyed. Accordingly, embodiments of thepresent invention provide a multi-dimensional modulation fortransmitting data network protocols.

By utilizing a complex, multi-channel physical modulation scheme, theControl information may be separated from the Payload Data of the packetand sent simultaneously on the same signal but on separate channels. Inone example, the Phase/Amplitude Time Modulation (ATM) technology may beused as a multi-dimensional physical layer signal modulation to transmita network protocol that includes both control and payload data (e.g.,Ethernet). As described here, the Phase/Amplitude Time Modulation (ATM)enables a simultaneous, multi-channel data delivery infrastructure. FIG.20 illustrates an embodiment of a multi-dimensional modulation scheme.As illustrated, channel 1 is modulated with control data, and channel 2is modulated with payload data, generating a transmitted signal may bemodulated with two channels of information. Channel 1 and channel 2 maybe either the ATM channel or the Phase channel.

For highest efficiency, Phase/Amplitude Time Modulation (ATM) allows forthe “payload” of the data to be transmitted on one channel of themodulation (i.e., a Payload Channel). While all of the control dataassociated with, and normally contained sequentially on either side ofthe payload data, may be sent simultaneously on the other channel (i.e.,the Control Channel), completely independent of the data payload.

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the multi-dimensionaltransmission of the Ethernet protocol. In the illustrated embodiment,the initial frame of the transmission establishes the connection andtransmits the header information for the Ethernet packet (i.e., Packet1) on the Control Channel and no data on the Data Channel. In the nextframe, the post-payload control information (i.e., FCS and Extension)for Packet 1 is transmitted with the header information for the nextEthernet packet (i.e., Packet 2) on the Control Channel, while thepayload data for Packet 1 is transmitted simultaneously on the DataChannel. Subsequent Ethernet packets are transmitted in a similarfashion, with the Control channel of a frame transmitting the headerinformation for a packet and the post-payload data of a previous packet,and the Data Channel of the frame simultaneously transmitting the datapayload of the previous packet.

After the first frame, every symbol can carry both control informationand data payload. Accordingly, control and payload data may betransmitted in parallel, rather than serially. This increases networkefficiency. Only the preamble and end of message types of protocolcontrol actions to detract from the data throughput.

The Control and Data Channels may be viewed as domains for thetransmission of data. In such case, the domains are both containedwithin the modulation or Physical Layer of the network. The result is anoverall more efficient performance by optimizing the functions in bothof these domains.

The result of this approach is to provide a communication protocol,based on modulation features, that is highly efficient and maximizes theavailable throughput of the network without an increase in carrierfrequency. In some embodiments, further parallelizing of this modulationis possible through higher throughput frequency support and additionalchannels.

A suitable communications system background is disclosed in more detailin the Drawings of U.S. Pat. No. 7,046,741 (now expired) issued on May16, 2006 to inventor Forrest J. Brown et al. The subject matter of whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into thisdisclosure.

An amplitude-time modulated compound signal wave modulator/demodulatorwill typically be configured as a classical communicationstransmit/receive system. Amplitude-time modulation techniques can alsobe a dedicated standalone communications transmit/receive system.

As will be appreciated, Phase/amplitude-time modulation provides a newmethod for communication of information that overcomes many of thechallenges of conventional modulation methods. With this new modulationtechnology significant channel bandwidth and noise issues can beaddressed. Phase/amplitude-time has been demonstrated to provide higherdata rate, more efficient frequency utilization, and greater immunity tonoise effects.

Various alternative embodiments may include a use case for a satellitedata modem, down-hole sensor communication for the oil/gas industry,cellular client and infrastructure communication, telephone and xDSL anda multitude of wireless and cable communication.

Similarly, while the present invention has been described herein as asignal modulation apparatus and means for data communication. Thepresent invention may be readily used with any number of communicationsystems or other similar devices now known or hereafter developed. Forexample, embodiments of the present invention may be used as areplacement for a SCADA modem (e.g., providing higher throughput andgreater noise immunity than current modem systems), or as a replacementfor the physical layer in IEEE 802 Ethernet systems (e.g., transmittingcontrol and payload data in parallel, as described herein).

Finally, while the present invention has been described above withreference to various exemplary embodiments, many changes, combinations,and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. For example, thevarious components may be implemented in alternative ways. Thesealternatives can be suitably selected depending upon the particularapplication or in consideration of any number of factors associated withthe operation of the device. In addition, the techniques describedherein may be extended or modified for use with other types of devices.These and other changes or modifications are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for multi-dimensional modulation of anetwork protocol including control data and payload data, the methodcomprising: encoding a first sine wave with the control data, whereinencoding the first sine wave includes encoding the first sine wave withheader information for a first packet and post-payload data for a secondpacket; encoding a second sine wave with the payload data, whereinencoding the second sine wave includes encoding the second sine wavewith payload data for the second packet; and summing the first andsecond sine waves to generate a compound sine wave.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first and second packets are Ethernet packets.
 3. Amethod for multi-dimensional modulation of a network protocol includingcontrol data and payload data, the method comprising: encoding a firstsine wave with the control data, wherein encoding the first sine waveincludes encoding an amplitude-time modulated sine wave; encoding asecond sine wave with the payload data, wherein encoding the second sinewave includes encoding a phase-modulated sine wave; and summing thefirst and second sine waves to generate a compound sine wave.
 4. Amethod for multi-dimensional modulation of a network protocol includingcontrol data and payload data, the method comprising: encoding a firstsine wave with the control data, wherein encoding the first sine waveincludes encoding a phase-modulated sine wave; encoding a second sinewave with the payload data, wherein encoding the second sine waveincludes encoding an amplitude-time modulated sine wave; and summing thefirst and second sine waves to generate a compound sine wave.